WASHINGTON – U.S. Senate Democratic Whip Dick Durbin (D-IL) issued the following statement after the non-partisan Congressional Budget Office (CBO) released its analysis of Senate Republicans’ most recent plan to repeal Americans’ health care without any replacement, estimating that 17 million people would lose coverage in 2018. That total would increase to 32 million people by 2026.

“It is incredible that Republicans will not tell us what version of the bill we’ll be voting on in just a few short days. They continue to meet in secret and try to force through bills opposed by virtually all medical and patient groups, the American public, health insurers, governors from both red and blue states, and all Democratic Senators.

“Depending on which Senate Republican bill you look at, their plan is to throw somewhere between 22 million and 32 million people off insurance, increase premiums between 20 and 100 percent for middle-class families, undermine protections for people with pre-existing conditions, cripple our fight against the opioid epidemic, and cut funding to hospitals nationwide, especially rural hospitals. Not to mention provide hundreds of billions in tax give-aways for wealthy Americans and big businesses.

“This is no way to govern. This shell game must end. Democrats and Republicans should instead come together and strengthen our health care system for all Americans.”